Saturday, March 7, 2009

Legal scholars, the blogopshere and the twitterati have been scratching their heads for a week following the Obama administration's assertion that it might "withdraw" (.pdf) classified documents at the center of a closely watched spy case.

Some are wondering whether the feds will use storm-trooper-like tactics to physically remove the data from the case. Others suggest the Obama administration's threats portend a constitutional showdown between the judicial and executive branches.

Yet strangely enough, the closest legal analogy seemingly pertains to the 1990s litigation surrounding Area 51, the once-secret military waste dump in the Nevada desert.

The spy lawsuit tests whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress, as President George W. Bush did, and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants. Bush acknowledged the spy program in 2005, and Congress ratified it in July.